Posted on 03/11/2023 6:04:43 AM PST by where's_the_Outrage?
(NEXSTAR) – You can get it by the glass, the can, the growler or the keg. But for some reason, you can’t guzzle it from a plastic two-liter.
Beer — at least in the United States — is rarely sold in plastic bottles. The most common mediums are glass bottles and aluminum cans, with the exception of the occasional “drinkable ornament” around the holidays. (We’re looking at you, Miller Lite.) Plastic bottles, meanwhile, are rarely ever seen in the beer aisle, despite being widely embraced by the juice and soft-drink industries.
Why is that? Well, as it turns out, beer tends to lose its carbonation and become stale in plastic bottles, whereas soda does not.
“Plastic is simply not a good package for beer,” said Chuck Skypeck, the director of technical brewing projects at the Brewers Association. “The molecular structure of most plastics is not good at keeping carbonation in the package/product or keeping oxygen out to prevent staling.”
“Putting it another way, both cans and glass are superior packages in regards to delivering beer to consumers with the freshness and carbonation levels that brewer intends for the consumer to experience,” according to Skypeck.
Another reason has to do with cost. In addition to possibly going flat, beer is also more susceptible to going “skunky” if it’s not stored in a light-filtering bottle — and light-filtering plastic bottles just haven’t caught on yet. They may even be harder to recycle, and, in some cases, more expensive to produce than cans or glass bottles, according to Gizmodo.
Then again, it’s possible that the industry’s preference for glass and aluminum has less to do with the difficulties outlined above and more to do with aesthetics. According to Skypeck, many brewers tend to believe that plastic bottles are seen as an “inferior package” that may tarnish the perception of the beer.
“Using plastic packaging can damage a brewers’ brand image both from a quality perspective and a sustainability perspective,” he said. “I can’t think of many folks that want more plastic introduced into the environment.”
Of course, not everyone in the global brewing community sees eye-to-eye. In other parts of the world, certain beers are more commonly packaged in plastic bottles, including brands that traditionally only come in glass or aluminum in the U.S. And even in the U.S., many major breweries will package beer in plastic bottles for sale at sporting events, concert venues, or places where glass might not be allowed.
At the moment, however, beer aisles across the country are bubbling over with glass bottles and aluminum cans. And it’s likely to stay that way, unless the industry suddenly takes a cue from Franzia and starts selling their beer in a box.
Remember when we drank from garden hoses? You have to let the water run a bit to clear out the warm water that taste like hose. Kids don’t drink from garden hoses these days. Parents will receive a visit from Child Protective Services when a commie neighbor does their duty to the state and rats on you.
I see the day snitches get stitches coming soon … hopefully.
Beer can go bad..aka skunked beer. Exposure to light.
That’s why brown bottles are better than green.
Molson and Heinekin are two that were often skunky in my younger days.
Plastic is clear
No thanks.
Oh the memory of playing at a friends house. She lived on the outskirts of a small town and we would ride our bikes as fast as we could into the small grocery with a cooler that had a sliding top and lots of bottles of soda sitting in ice cold water. On a hot summer day when we were dripping with sweat, I can still remember how wonderful that bottle of Pepsi tasted and how quickly it was gone! But we would press that still cool bottle on our faces to soak up every bit of refreshment.
At my local bar, literally crawling distance from my house, during televised sporting events I get a 20oz Domestic Draft for $2. Regular Draft price is between $3-6, depending on the brand.
Match that with a coney dog w/chili for $2.50 and I’m there semi regularly.
Water Park price is $45 per person, usually get next day free.
Lg pizza slice with soft drink is $15. However they have a meal deal where every 90 minutes you can get another for $45 a day.
Plastic outgasses. Especially in hotter conditions. So it can affect taste. Glass doesn’t.
I believe it- i always suspected there was a wonky taste compared to glass bottles-
Yep- same memories for me- the glass bottles also seemed to stay cooler for longer too-
Beer makes me outgas, too.
Wellthats part of it.
The other part of it is if whatever liquid is in there, can be altered by temperature changes (usually hot conditions). For example chemical sweeteners in diet sodas often break down in hot weather and make the taste change.
yeah that could be too- i never drink artificial sweetened though- leaves a nasty aftertaste-
[[you can get a Near Beer in a paper cup for $11 Dollars. Bottles of water were going for $8 Bucks]]
Holy Gouging charges Batman!
I stopped drinking sodas years ago
I prefer a healthy, working liver,kidneys and pancreas
Already get more than enough refined sugar and carbs
Yep, the 6oz Coke’s tasted the best, then add your peanuts. Beer in the long neck bottles was always the best too. Don’t know why. Even Dixie beer was tolerable in long necks.
“What’s par for a pint in an American bar these days?”
Depends upon where you’re drinking. At our Jersey Shore local Irish themed pub the Imperial pint of Guinness or Smithwicks is $8 and US pints of domestic brews are $5 or $6. Go to Manhattan and happy hour pints are ten bucks.
Could be all in my mind, but I hated it when they switched to plastic
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Coke absorbs plastic.
I think if Coke loses its carbonation, we absorb more plastic when we drink it. If you live in a place where they have Coke in glass and plastic bottles and they make it with low plastic water, you could drink both after removing the carbon dioxide from them. If one has more plastic, I think there would be a big difference in taste.
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One can test Coke for plastic.
Make distiller water with both drinks and compare their conductivities. I think some plastic evaporates when one makes distilled water, and it increases the conductivity of distilled water. So, if the Coke in the glass bottle had more plastic, the distilled water made from it would have higher conductivity.
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If we open a glass bottle, it keeps its carbonation longer than a plastic bottle.
What about milk? It has long been established that light - even in two hours - always noticeably negatively affected the taste of milk
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You can make low plastic milk with low plastic water and milk powder. It has more vitamins.
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